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Monthly Archives: February 2016

The Bruery in Placentia California, has become world renowned in a relatively short time (founded in 2008). When you taste their beers, you understand why, and might concede their reputation is well deserved. Today I review two of their somewhat pricey beers that are seasonal or limited release. Please read responsibly.

Tart of Darkness: The Bruery, Placentia, CA. 7.2% ABV.
The first time I tasted this beer was in the Tasting Room at The Bruery. It was just a sample glass, but it was so good, yet unusual, that I was hooked. I recently looked back through my archives on this blog, but realized I have never published a review of this gem. For my laziness, I offer my apologies (and shame on me!).

I poured Tart of Darkness into a Bruery tulip glass. It is dark, in fact it’s nearly black, and produces a 1/2″ light tan head. The head faded rapidly, leaving a razor thin ring around the perimeter. The aroma is tart, sour cherries, with a little chocolate. As it warms in the tulip glass, the chocolate aroma increases, but remains behind the tartness.

The overwhelming flavor is described in the name of the beer – TART. It is extremely tart, from start to finish, making one pucker. However, upon reflection and further tasting, the complexity and the subtleties become apparent. It exhibits a sweetness, so I would describe the flavor as “sweet-tart”. The chocolate notes and the roastiness, from the dark grains, peek through to moderate the tart and sour cherry flavors. The chocolate and roasty notes also increase with the beer temperature, but the tartness remains the overwhelming flavor sensation. That tartness smooths out a bit in the aftertaste, with a little bit of sweet chocolate lingering (though not for long). Although this is a barrel aged beer, I get none of the oaky, vanilla aromas or flavors.

Tart of Darkness sports a medium body, and the carbonation is well developed for a stout. The alcohol content is only 7.2%, but I drank it on an empty stomach, and it went right to my head. Nothing wrong with that, I say, let’s get the full effect of this beer.

The tartness of this beer is so overwhelming that the palate is rapidly wrecked, and it becomes difficult to distinguish any other flavors. However, this beer is EXCELLENT! You gotta taste it to appreciate this awesome beer. I’m afraid my description does not do it justice. I sampled this beer from a 750 ML bomber, purchased at Total Wine for $20.49. Yes, I know that’s expensive for one bottle of beer, but if you like dark beers and you like sour beers, you really need to buy one.

So Happens It’s Tuesday: The Bruery, Placentia, CA. 14% ABV.
This is a huge Imperial Russian Stout. Black Tuesday, by The Bruery, is, without a doubt, the biggest baddest Imperial Stout on the block. However, unless you’re a member of The Bruery’s Reserve Society (I’m not – too expensive), it’s almost impossible to come by. But, So Happens It’s Tuesday, is Black Tuesday’s little brother. Although he’s the little brother, he’s by no means whimpy. Let me explain.

So Happens It’s Tuesday pours pitch black with a 1/4″ cocoa colored creamy head. The foamy head remained for a few minutes, then faded to a ring and a thin layer on top. The aroma is complex – brown sugar, dark fruit, raisin, tart cherry, with an almost red wine-like character.

This beer is silky smooth and quite thick, and the flavor is unbelievably rich. It’s sweet, with noticeable chocolate, and caramel notes. Those flavors fade to dark, roasty chocolate, which fades to vanilla, coconut and mellow oaky bourbon flavors. It’s 14% ABV, but the alcohol is well hidden and only slightly noted in the taste.

Like any big stout (especially one as high in alcohol as this), the subtle flavors shine through as this beer warms up. As big as this beer is, it is unbelievably easy to drink. Watch out, though, the high alcohol content will kick your butt. I had a buzz when I was 1/3 of the way through my first glass (a Buery tulip glass).

Even though I live only a few miles from The Bruery, I find it almost impossible to come by Black Tuesday. In contrast, however, So Happens It’s Tuesday is widely available right now. It is an awesome beer, and although it is only the little brother of Black Tuesday, I can’t recommend it highly enough. I purchased a 750 ML bomber of So Happens It’s Tuesday at Total Wine for $19.99.

So there you have it, reviews of two wonderful beers from The Bruery. I highly recommend both, with one caveat – if you’re a fizzy yellow beer drinker, don’t bother! Although both are about the same price (Tart of Darkness is 50¢ per bottle more), for my money I much prefer So Happens It’s Tuesday. Of course, I’m an Imperial Stout lover, and although I like sour beers, they are more of a novelty to me and not to be visited frequently. The bottom line is that even though these are expensive beers, both are well worth the price of admission. If you’re interested, though, you better hurry, as there are limited quantities and availability.

I need to interject a few thoughts about Black Tuesday, since it was mentioned prominently in this post. In my opinion, Black Tuesday is the best beer in the world. Yes, it is better than Heady Topper (The Alchemist), Pliny the Elder (Russian River) and Dark Lord (Three Floyds). I have never reviewed Black Tuesday, but that will change someday. I have reviewed Heady Topper and referenced it’s standing in the beer world (along with MY ranking compared to Black Tuesday). I refer you to my Beer Review post of November 4, 2014 if you are interested in additional details.

I previously stated how hard it is go get a bottle of Black Tuesday, but in the last couple of weeks I came into possession of a bottle (2015 vintage). And how, you ask, did I manage to get my hands on the best beer in the world? My next door neighbor, Herbert Wang, graciously gave me a bottle (yes, GAVE it to me). In exchange I have given him some Mac’s Brew (so far, Club 57 and Black Forest Stout) and will give him several more as compensation for his all too generous gift. Herbert, you are a fine young man, a good neighbor, and a kind soul. I only hope you enjoy the Mac’s Brew samples half as much as I am going to enjoy the bottle of Black Tuesday. THANK YOU, HERBERT!!

Black Tuesday is very expensive, and is therefore a special occasion beer (yeah, and it’s also 20% ABV, so for that reason also, it’s not an everyday beer). I will post a review when I drink it, but it may be quite awhile before that special occasion arises. If you are intrigued enough about Black Tuesday, you will need to check back with this site often to avoid missing the much anticipated review.

Greetings from Mac’s Brew Pub. I have not published a newsletter since December, therefore I have some catching up to do. Today is Valentine’s Day, so I salute all you beer lovers out there. This newsletter is dedicated to my Beautiful Valentine, Sheila. Happy Valentine’s Day to one and all, but especially to Sheila!

In my last newsletter, I lamented the lack of draught beer at Mac’s Brew Pub. Since then, I have kept myself busy and the aggravation is slowly improving. Here is what has been brewed recently.

Mac’s WAD (Wide Awake Drunk): Brewed 11-22-2015; 4.9% ABV.
Mac’s WAD is an oatmeal coffee stout. As mentioned in my last newsletter, this brew was a collaboration (recipe, cost, & labor) with a terrific young brewer (and friend), Bryce Lowrance. This is an English style stout, low in alcohol but big in flavor (especially coffee). Bryce and I brewed 10 gallons together on a weekend in November, and fermented the entire batch here at Mac’s. After fermenting and conditioning in my fermenter, we split up the batch so that we each got 5 gallons to further our artistry with coffee.

The base recipe is an oatmeal stout conditioned with a lot of cacao nibs. The mash had a high percentage of oatmeal and was conducted at a relatively high temperature. The wort was fermented with an English yeast. Those factors left the finished beer with a fairly high final gravity and a velvety smooth mouthfeel and thick body. I cold brewed 2 1/2 cups of SUPER concentrated coffee using Modern Times Coffee “Black House” blend, then added it to the keg “to taste” (there was a little coffee left over once I was satisfied with the flavor). Bryce coarse crushed his favorite coffee beans and added them to the keg for a couple of days (50+ hours).

The results are astounding! This beer, although fairly puny for a Mac’s stout (i.e., low alcohol content) is right at home in the oatmeal stout low-medium ABV range, and is loaded with intense flavors. The coffee is front and center for sure, but there are also strong chocolate/cocoa notes. The coffee is not at all bitter or harsh, but mellow and full. The only thing I will change if I brew this again (I will) is the amount of coffee – maybe about 10 -15% less next time so the flavor is just a little more subtle (note: Bryce’s version had even more coffee flavor, although it was not overwhelming; it was very good also, but I’m not a coffee drinker, so I prefer a lower amount).

Mac’s PAPA (Paper Ass Pale Ale): Brewed 12-22-2015; 6.2% ABV.
This is my second effort at Mac’s PAPA (see Mac’s Brew News, May 7, 2015 for additional information on this brew, including the name). I changed the recipe just slightly from my first version, and I dry hopped this one with some Cascade hops. It turned out wonderful and when I brew it again, I will not change the recipe or protocol. The alcohol content is just slightly higher (6.2% vs. 6.0%), but the hop aroma and flavor is noticeably improved from the original. I brewed 10 gallons, so I should have this one on tap for a few months.

Smackdown: Brewed 01-22-2016; 7.3% ABV (currently dry hopping).
I will cold crash Smackdown on Wednesday 02-17-2016 and then keg it a week later. It should be on tap on 02-23-2016. This iteration is a little different than last time and should feature more bitterness and additional hoppy aroma and flavor.

Nutcase: Brewed 02-02-2016; currently in the secondary fermenter.
It’s been three years since I brewed this chocolate hazelnut oatmeal imperial stout (wow, that’s a mouthful). It was 9.5% ABV when I checked the gravity today. It should stay at that level. The last time I brewed this in 2013, it won 3rd place at the OC Fair. I changed the recipe and protocol a little, and believe it will be better this time. It will need to condition for about 2 months before I bottle it, so I don’t think I will be drinking this until late spring or early summer.

My next brew will be a honey blonde in collaboration with two other fine brewers, Mike and Chris Boblit. We plan to brew on Saturday 02-20-2016. I will recycle the “Sheila’s B(ee)FD Honey Blonde Ale” recipe (see Mac’s Brew News – October 4, 2015 for more about this beer). I’m not sure if I am going to revise the recipe/protocol at all, but will rename it this time, as “Sheila’s BFD” was a once in a lifetime sobriquet, brewed and named for Sheila’s retirement celebration.

Although it was tough being out of Mac’s Brew around here, I managed to satisfy my desire for delicious beer with a variety of commercial craft brews. If you follow this blog, you have seen all of the beer reviews as evidence of said consumption. But hold on, there are more reviews to come in the very near future . . . That’s it for now, so go love some special beer for the rest of Valentime’s Day.